After Quick-Fire Criticism, Paula Deen's Contract Is Toast

Paula Deen is the host of the Food Network's Paula's Home Cooking and Paula's Best Dishes.

Chia Chong

Originally published on June 21, 2013 5:59 pm

Paula Deen's contract with The Food Network expires at the end of June — and it won't be renewed.

The celebrity chef faced a barrage of criticism after the National Enquirerreported that Deen admitted to using the N-word in a deposition for a discrimination lawsuit against her. (For more details, check out this close read of the deposition in our Code Switch blog.)

Deen released multiple apology videos Friday. As BuzzFeed reports, the first video "toggled between public and private for an hour before it was completely removed, replaced by a longer version."

In the second video, she says she wants to "learn and grow from this" and that "inappropriate, hurtful language is totally, totally unacceptable."

"In the middle of Today's 7 a.m. hour, Matt Lauer made the announcement that Deen had scheduled an exclusive live interview with Today — and that she simply did not show up."

Deen released a third video apologizing to host Matt Lauer for not showing up, saying: "The last 48 hours have been very, very hard. And you know, I'm a strong woman, but today I wasn't. This morning I was not."

NPR's Kathy Lohr tells our Newscast Desk:

"Deen is trying to stave off criticism from all corners, including her fans. She makes millions each year from TV shows, cookbooks and personal appearances."